It’s been several weeks since Cranston city councilors Steve Stycos and Paul Archetto complained about their wards being blanketed with parking tickets shortly after they voted against a police contract. Both councilors have alleged that the tickets were punishment for their votes, which would have given Cranston officers a roughly eleven percent raise over three years.

Archetto says he’s tired of waiting for Cranston police to finish their internal investigation. What’s more, he has serious doubts about whether the department is capable of conducting an impartial review. So he and Stycos have introduced a resolution that, if approved, would put state police in charge of the probe.

"It’s so incestuous with relatives and family relations that it’s very difficult to ascertain the truth within that department," said Archetto.

Archetto says he hasn’t counted votes, but he suspects the Cranston City Council is sharply divided over the idea of bringing in state police. He expects a close vote.

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Cranston police are investigating two city councilors’ allegations that their wards were blanketed with parking tickets in retaliation for their votes against a proposed police contract.

On November 14th the Cranston City Council voted 4-3 against a contract that would have given police officers an eleven percent raise over three years. The next morning the wards of two councilors who had voted against the contract were blanketed with parking tickets.